Having gained a Masters in Chemistry at the University of York, and having spent a year working for BP in the customer support and research laboratory, I decided I wanted to move into the business side of industry. I wanted a career that would enable me to help manage and drive forward projects as well as a company. I also wanted to be able to get a professional qualification whilst gaining practical experience in the workplace. CIMA is the perfect option to achieve this and will provide the background and knowledge to succeed in business.

The things that attracted me to BAE Systems’ FLDP scheme included the excellent study and support package to help you through CIMA and into high level jobs, as well as the wide variety of experience that few companies could rival, if any. BAE Systems has a large number of sites and a diverse range of products including munitions, tanks, high tech aircraft and large high performance naval vessels.

My first role was as project accountant working for the Military Air Solutions Hawk team based in Warton. From the start I was given responsibility for a number of contracts giving me the opportunity to be involved in as well as lead a number of activities, including producing and reviewing monthly reporting packs, forecasting costs and foreign currency expenditure and completing sales and margin trading plans. Being new to finance this role gave me a good overview of how projects are run and managed in the organisation.

My second year role was based at Global Combat Systems in Glascoed. This year was split into product reporting and management accounts. Product reporting involved monitoring sales, costs, contribution and cash receipts for the medium calibre product suite, as well as providing support and detailed cost analysis for project managers.

During the management accounting placement I was given the opportunity to be responsible for two cost centres with a budget in excess of £2.5m. I was also responsible for producing the weekly performance packs for the site manager and other key personnel. The role also involved compiling proposals for capital expenditure for items in excess of £150k, conducting stock audits to ensure the control systems were working and completing the fixed asset register. The thing I enjoyed about these roles was the fact you are involved in the day to day running of the business and you develop a really good understanding of the products.

The FLDP programme has provided me with experience of a range of different finance roles, sites, products and working environments. In every role I have been an integral part of the finance team and had the opportunity of working with a wide variety of people at all levels of the business from a range of disciplines. Each year has given me new challenges helping drive my development and career forward. This experience and knowledge will be invaluable for me achieving my long term goal of becoming a Finance Director.